There are numerous types of foods that are prepared as thin, flat layers, such as crepes, pita and flatbreads. Such foods may be fairly delicate, and tearing or breaking apart of such foods is frequently undesirable.
One example of such a food is the east African staple known as engera. Engera has traditionally been prepared over a wood or other fire on a ceramic cooker that has a relatively flat surface. The engera is traditionally cooked on such a cooker under a cover that may be made from mud or clay.
The typical engera is very thin, being prepared from a relatively thin batter made up of water, yeast and flour, such as flour made from sorghum, corn or teff (a plant in the grass family that grows in east Africa). A substantial amount of water vapor is evolved during the cooking process, and dripping or running of condensate onto or into the engera is undesirable. The rapid evolution of steam during the process may indicate that the cooking of the engera is nearing completion.
As with other such foods, uniform cooking of the engera benefits from a relatively uniformly heated cooking surface. Substantial variations in the heating of the surface can result in some parts of an engera being overcooked and/or other parts being undercooked.